Today, as we tore another page off the calendar, we realized that it was exactly 40 years ago…today that we officially opened our doors and started seeing Patients. It prompted us to take a brief look back.
In June of 1973, John and Jennifer Warford arrived in Bismarck with a 4×8 U-Haul, pulled by a 1963 Ford, to begin building their personal “American Dream”. The Warfords recognized early on that Bismarck offered quality of life and economic possibilities.
Soon after arriving in town, Dr. Warford began setting up his practice, Warford Orthodontics, in the Ward Building at 4th and Thayer. Because of construction delays he spent that summer driving to Minot to assist another orthodontist. The first Patients began treatment that September.
In 1984, the practice moved to its current location on Turnpike Avenue.
In 1973, the procedure of “putting braces on” involved bands that had to be custom fit around every tooth and took an hour, per Patient, to install. Due to technological advancements, brackets, adhesives and wires soon replaced the bands, and can now be installed in minutes. Other improvements over the years allow less force to be used, making braces more comfortable to wear. Today, Patients enjoy the option of clear braces and even no braces at all with Invisalign, which have helped usher the term “Tin Grin” out the door!
In 2003, on its 30th anniversary, Warford Orthodontics expanded its practice as Dr. John Warford, Jr and his wife Beth moved back to Bismarck. Today they combine over 50 years of experience and technical expertise between the Doctors helping provide excellent results at Warford Orthodontics.
Integration of the latest technology and treatment philosophies are core to the “Patient Experience” where excellence, efficiency and speed are paramount to minimizing discomfort, getting results, and making each visit “better than expected”.
Now, 40 years later, over 16,000 Patients have been tasked with “Changing the World, One Smile at a Time”, the mission of Warford Orthodontics. This mission has resulted in two community projects The Jerene’s Wish program (www.jereneswish.com) and The Braces Project (www.bracesproject.com). The Braces Project alone has donated over 5000 volunteer hours in our community every 2 years!
Since 1973, the Doctors at Warford Orthodontics are grateful for the support given by the Bismarck/Mandan area, for the lives they’ve changed and for the opportunity to live, work and play with our three generations of Warford Family!
If you would like to share any stories or memories of your experiences at Warford Orthodontics, we would love to hear them. You can enter them in the comments section below, send them via our Contact us page or share them on our Facebook page.
Here’s to the next 40 years!
